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THIS WEEK’S CONTENT
WATCH THE WEEKLY CAM NEWSLETTER SUMMARY BELOW
TAKE ACTION
(1 Piece)
United Hatzalah Emergency COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Response Fund
United Hatzalah’s (UH) community of 6,000+ highly trained volunteer medics are playing a key role in the coronavirus pandemic in Israel to help those in need at no charge. Israelis are turning to United Hatzalah for medical care and information. To meet this increasing demand, UH added more trained dispatchers, purchased protective gear and other essential medical equipment. The incremental costs to UH of responding to this crisis, including PPE kits, additional medical equipment and increased staff, is approximately $28,000 per day. Please consider donating to UH to help those in need!
Special Feature
(1 Piece)
1. Herzl Take Action Award Winner – Art Over Hate
By Craig Dershowitz
The Combat Anti-Semitism Venture Creative Contest encouraged people of all backgrounds to create new solutions solutions towards ending “the world’s oldest hatred”. The Herzl Take Action Award asked people to submit a plan for a social venture that would help stop anti-Semitism with the winners receiving grants to activate their idea.
One of our Herzl Take Action Award winners is Craig Dershowitz from Artists 4 Israel. He plans to create an international network of young, progressive, non-Jewish street and mural artists to paint giant murals combating anti-Semitism in cities with a history of anti-Semitic problems. The murals will be public and educational by representing love, peace, and tolerance.
UNITED STATES
(11 Articles)
1. Missouri Man Who Allegedly Planned to Bomb Hospital Said Jews Were Behind Coronavirus
By AARON BANDLER
Timothy Wilson, a Missouri man, who was planning to use a car bomb at a local medical facility died in a confrontation with FBI agents. He planned to bomb a hospital outside of Kansas City. Wilson’s Telegram account showed that he was involved with neo-Nazi organizations and posted “If you don’t think this whole [coronavirus] thing was engineered by Jews as a power grab here is more proof of their plans…” Read Here
2. Conservative pastor says coronavirus spread in synagogues is punishment from God
By MARCY OSTER
Rick Wiles, the Florida pastor who claimed that the effort to impeach US President Trump was a “Jew coup,” has said the spread of coronavirus in synagogues is a punishment of the Jewish people for opposing Jesus. Wiles made the claim on his TruNews broadcast. Read Here
3. Amazon reverses ban, still selling Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’
By JNS
Amazon is still selling editions of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, reversing a recent ban. The online retailer said that the company enables “customers with access to a variety of viewpoints,” adding that “all retailers make decisions about what selection they choose to offer.” Read Here
4. Woman arrested for alleged Facebook post connecting virus to Chassidic weddings
By JNS
A 56-year-old woman in Ramapo, New York has been arrested for posting a threatening Facebook comment in response to a picture of “a school bus with Hebrew writing on the side, and the underlying title ‘Coronavirus Surges in Hasidic Brooklyn as Schools Remain Open and Weddings Continue.’ “The comment was biased in nature and falls within the definition of the NYS Penal Law section of Making a Terrorist Threat, a class D Felony, according to Ramapo police. Read Here
5. New Jersey Man in Custody for Threatening to Beat Up Orthodox Jews Over Coronavirus Distancing
By Algemeiner Staff
42-year-old Anthony Lodespoto of Howell, New Jersey is behind bars after making violent threats on Facebook against a local Jewish community over the coronavirus. His anti-Semitic threat asserted that the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood was not observing social distancing protocols, and warned that he planned to travel to the township “with the purpose of assaulting members of the Jewish community with a baseball bat.” Read Here
6. Swastikas spray-painted at Bernie Sanders campaign office in Florida
By TOI Staff
A campaign office for Bernie Sanders in Florida was vandalized with swastikas. Pictures from the scene showed a number of Nazi swastikas, as well as the sentence “voting didn’t stop us last time.” Read Here
7. Man stabbed in Monsey Hanukkah attack succumbs to wounds
By TOI Staff
Josef Neumann, 72, who was seriously wounded in the Hanukkah attack in Monsey, New York, has died, three months after the stabbing rampage.
Neumann was the most seriously injured person in the attack and doctors had said there was little chance he would ever make a full recovery. Read Here
8. Ocean County, NJ deputy fire marshal under investigation for Lakewood rant on Facebook
By Erik Larsen
John P. Pasola, an Ocean County deputy fire marshal is under investigation for derogatory statements about Lakewood and its residents that were posted under his Facebook account. Pasola called Lakewood a “—hole,” its residents “trash” and “Dirty ones,” referring to Lakewood’s Orthodox Jewish community. Read Here
9. Virtual meetings being disrupted by anti-Semites
By JNS
With the coronavirus pandemic pushing meetings to go virtual, anti-Semites have taken the opportunity to disrupt them on the video conferencing platform Zoom. The practice is known as “Zoombombing,” according to the ADL, which cited online multiple incidents. Read Here
10. Pennsylvania man charged with making threats to Jews, other minorities
By MARCY OSTER/JTA
Federal charges have been levied against Corbin Kauffman, 31, for posting online threats against Jews and other minorities. He posted a threatening image on social media that featured a digitally created image of his arm aiming an AR-15 rifle at praying Jewish men gathered in a synagogue, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Read Here
11. Ames, Iowa Police investigating anti-Semitic graffiti at Brookside Park
By David Mullen
Ames police are investigating anti-Semitic graffiti that was painted onto the bridge leading to the tennis courts at Brookside Park. The graffiti included a swastika and other various phrases with explicit words. Read Here
ISRAEL AND THE REST OF THE WORLD
(4 Pieces)
1. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN THE UK
Far-right activists infiltrate London shul’s online service with anti-Semitic messages
By Lee Harpin
A Friday night service screened online by North Western Reform Synagogue in Golders Green was infiltrated by far-right extremists who wrote anti-Semitic and racist messages on the official group chat space. Around 250 members of the congregation were online for the broadcast on Zoom listening to Rabbi Josh Levy’s Kabbalat Shabbat service when the comments, made by up to five individuals, began to appear on screen. Read Here
“F*** JEWS” FOUND PAINTED ON EXTERNAL WALL IN GATESHEAD
By CAA
Anti-Jewish racists painted anti-Semitic obscenities on a wall in Gateshead, in the north of England. The phrase “F*** Jews” was found painted on the external wall of a property in a back lane off Whitehall Road. Read Here
Resolve disciplinary cases within four months, Board tells next Labour leader
By MATHILDE FROT
The next Labour leader should resolve all outstanding disciplinary cases within four months of taking office, the Board of Deputies’ president Marie van der Zyl said. The senior community leader made the demand in an article published in The Times just days before the party is expected to announce the result of its leadership contest on 4 April. Read Here
Anti-racism charity trustee quits over failure to listen to Jewish community’s concerns over Ken Loach appointment
By Lee Harpin
Azeem Ahmad, a member of the Show Racism the Red Card’s Management Committee resigned from the organisation, which bills itself as the UK’s leading anti-racism educational charity, in protest at chief executive Ged Grebby’s decision to ignore concerns from the Jewish community to recruit left-wing film director Ken Loach to judge an annual school competition. Mr Loach has sparked outrage throughout Labour’s anti-Semitism crisis. Read Here
2. IN-DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM IN GERMANY
US expert: Berlin anti-Semitism center ignores Israel-related anti-Semitism
BY BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Prominent American historian, Dr. Jeffrey Herf, sharply criticized the Berlin Center for Anti-Semitism Research (ZfA) for failing to address radical left-wing, communist and Islamic Jew-hatred. The scandal-plagued ZfA has faced intense criticism over the years for employing a researcher who worked for an organization that promoted an Iranian regime-sponsored rally calling for the destruction of the Jewish state. Read Here
German magazine stokes ‘anti-Semitism’ against Israel amid coronavirus
BY BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
The German news magazine Der Spiegel has been catapulted into a new scandal after falsely declaring that all demonstrations in Israel were outlawed. Protests on social media from Israelis and Germans prompted a correction. Spiegel changed the headline to: “Demonstrations with more than ten participants are prohibited due to the corona crisis.” Read Here
3. IN DEPTH: THIS WEEK’S NEWS ON ANTI-SEMITISM ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Yemeni scholar: Jews, Israel and US made coronavirus to shut down Mecca
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Yemeni scholar Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi delivered a sermon in which he claimed that Jews and Americans created COVID-19 with the intention of closing down the Islamic holy sites of Mecca and Medina. He went on to say that not only is the pandemic because of this secret plot, but the Saudi Royal family is secretly Jewish and that they are all descendants of a Jew called Mordechai who lived in Iraq. Read Here
Palestinian PM accuses IDF troops of deliberately spreading coronavirus
By i24NEWS
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh accused IDF soldiers of deliberately spreading the novel coronavirus among the West Bank’s Palestinian population. In the latest iteration of an ongoing and long-standing blood libel, Shtayyeh claimed, “We were exposed to testimonies that some of the (Israeli) soldiers are trying to spread the virus on car handles.” Read Here
PA Mouthpiece Accuses Israel of Coronavirus ‘Holocaust’ Against Jailed Palestinians
By Algemeiner Staff
The Palestinian Authority’s official newspaper accused Israel of launching a coronavirus “holocaust” against Palestinian prisoners in its custody. An editorial in the PA mouthpiece Al-Hayat al-Jadida falsely claimed that the spread of coronavirus in Israel had “caused the Palestinian prisoners in the occupation’s detention camps to protest and return the food portions – as if we are on the brink of a holocaust against the Palestinian prisoners, but not through ovens but rather through an invisible virus that still has no cure!” Read Here
4. IN DEPTH: OTHER WORLD NEWS
Online anti-Semitic attack against former Health Minister in France
BY YOSSI LEMPKOWICZ
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre denounced an online anti-Semitic attack against the former Health Minister in France, Agnès Buzyn, who is accused of ‘’poisoning water wells and knowingly misleading the French public concerning Coronavirus.’’ In a Twitter message, Buzyn, who is Jewsih and a professional haematologist, appears alongside the yellow star marked ‘Jude’ (‘Jew’), imposed on the Jewish population by the Nazis. Read Here
Italian Artist Giovanni Gasparro Revives Anti-Semitic Blood Libel With Graphic Painting of Medieval Child ‘Martyr
By Ben Cohen
Giovanni Gasparro, an artist based in the Adriatic port city of Bari, whose work has been honored by the Catholic Church, unveiled his latest canvas this week — a grotesquely anti-Semitic depiction of hook-nosed Jews engaged in the “ritual murder” of a terrified Christian infant. He uploaded images of the 7ft X 5ft painting that revives the anti-Semitic blood libel of medieval times onto his Facebook page. Read Here
Swiss Museum to Pay Undisclosed Sum to Heirs of Jewish Art Collector Victimized by Nazis
By Algemeiner Staff
The city of Basel’s Fine Arts Museum has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to the heirs of the Jewish art collector Curt Glaser as compensation for acquiring artworks from him at knock-down prices when he fled Nazi Germany. The museum acknowledged that Glaser had been “a victim of National Socialism” and said it had reached a “fair and just” solution with his heirs. Read Here
Jewish Group’s Webinar Hacked with Racist Messages
BY B’nai Brith Canada
A webinar held by the Canada Anti-Semitism Education Foundation (CAEF) was hacked and disrupted with grotesque, hateful and inappropriate messages. The webinar featured Yifa Segal, director of the International Legal Forum, on the video-calling app, Zoom. During the event, racist messages and pornographic images were projected onto the screen by hackers. B’nai Brith Canada is working closely with CAEF to get to the bottom of what happened in addition to filing a complaint with the police and Zoom. Read Here
‘Zionists Not Welcome’ Graffiti Found on Israeli Coffee Bar in Toronto
By AARON BANDLER
Graffiti stating “Zionists not welcome” was found on an Aroma Espresso Bar in downtown Toronto. B’nai Brith Canada posted a photo of the graffiti on Twitter after being alerted about it, writing: “This despicable hateful graffiti defacing an Aroma in #Toronto will not be accepted. #Antisemitism.” Read Here
ON CAMPUS
(3 Articles)
1. NYU slams ex-SJP president for ‘callous’ tweet about coronavirus victim
By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
After a former NYU student who oversaw Students for Justice in Palestine expressed a morbid pleasure over the death of an Israeli Holocaust survivor due to the coronavirus, NYU spokesman John Beckman said: “With almost 500,000 alumni, NYU does not routinely respond to its graduates’ social media posts, but the reported post by a former NYU student about the first Israeli death from COVID-19 was shameful and callous. NYU denounces such insensitivity; it is at odds with our campus’ values.” Read Here
2. Social distancing brings new challenges, opportunities for Jewish students
By ZEV HURWITZ
Almost immediately after campuses began shutting down, the National Students for Justice in Palestine announced a “Virtual Israel Apartheid Week” to replace on-campus Israel-bashing set to take place that week. The SJP chapter at University of Maryland at College Park even held an event linking the coronavirus and Israeli occupation, despite news that Israel and the Palestinian Authority had announced a collaborative effort to slow the virus’ spread. Read Here
3. EDGE HILL STUDENTS’ UNION SUSPENDS RESULT OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO NEW PRESIDENT ELECT’S BEHAVIOUR
By CAA
After Campaign Against Anti-Semitism publicised the troubling behaviour of Edge Hill University’s Students’ Union (SU) new president-elect and demanded action, the student union now announced that it will suspend the result of last week’s election and open a full investigation. Sam Farrell, the new SU president-elect, dressed up as a Holocaust victim for a “Movie and TV Show” themed night out and was seen in images posted on social media with captions referring to “needing a shower” and “feeling gassed”. Read Here
real story
We highlight here the victims of anti-Semitism to raise awareness and to humanize the issue. If you have a story to share, we want to hear from you! Contact us for more information.
After a case of anti-Semitic vandalism that targeted a sukkah at the home of a Chabad rabbi in the town of Keswick, Ontario, York Regional Police took Saeed Ahmed of Keswick into custody and charged him with mischief in relation to religious property. The arrest brought a sense of relief to Rabbi Yossi Vorovitch, who has lived in Keswick with his family for the past two years. Watch Rabbi Vorovitch story below.
ANALYSIS
(2 Pieces)
1. The coronavirus pandemic is bringing with it a new level of anti-Semitism
By Avi Benlolo
The coronavirus is bringing anti-Semitism to a new level in the modern age. Supported by old anti-Semitic libels, coronasemitism is abetted by technology that spreads falsehoods around the planet in seconds. We are seeing social network posts by radical anti-Israel and anti-Jewish groups attempting to link the virus to Israel and the Jewish people. In times of trouble, there are those who search for a scapegoat to blame, using mass fear to further a personal agenda. But I am quite confident that humanity is in a better position today to defeat COVID-19, and with it, coronasemitism. Read Here
2. Crises and Conspiracies
By David Harris
Now, with a pandemic circling the globe and threatening us all, the conspiracy theorists, unsurprisingly, are at it once more. And again for the anti-Semites, it presents an opportunity to pin the blame on, who else, the Jews, even as the outbreak began in Wuhan, China. Nor does it matter that Israel is battling the coronavirus tooth-and-nail, or that a number of American Jews have already succumbed to the pandemic. Anti-Semitism is an irrational pathology. Stopping the conspiracy-mongers and their hateful incitement may not be a simple task. Failing to monitor and confront the threat they pose, however, would be shortsighted in the extreme. Read Here
STUDIES AND STATISTICS
(1 Piece)
1. Rising anti-Semitism has increased luxury home sales in Israel, report claims
By PHILISSA CRAMER
Anti-Semitism is on the rise, and people are scared, so they’re buying [homes in Israel],” according Shoshi Kahtan Gentely, the director of Israel Property Network. “More and more Jews are buying properties in Israel.” Read Here
FEATURED PARTNER
Combat Anti-Semitism is proud to be a partner of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council, an organization dedicated to educating people around the globe about Iraqi Christian persecution. Learn more about the Iraqi Christian Relief Council in the video below.
Non-Profit Seeks to Provide Computers to Iraqi Christian Schools
By Perry West
While Christian schools in Iraq continue to suffer, a non-profit that promotes positive engagement in the Middle East is aiming to provide computers to Assyrian Christian schools. Partnering together, the Iraqi Christian Relief Council and the Philos Project are trying to raise $25,000 to install computer labs for Christian schools throughout northern Iraq. Read Here
Register For ISGAP’s March 30th Webinar: ISGAP-Merton College High Level Workshop for Government Civil Servants and Policy Experts on Understanding and Combating Anti-Semitism: Strategies and Best Practices. Register here
The Iraqi Christian Relief Council seeks to educate people around the globe about Iraqi Christian persecution, ask for prayers, and raise funds to support their basic humanitarian needs and partake in rebuilding their lives.
Government & Policy Update
This section highlights the work of government officials around the world that are combating anti-Semitism in their official capacities.
(7 Pieces)
1. Gov. Andrew Cuomo renames hate crime legislation to honor Monsey stabbing victim who died
By MARCY OSTER
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is renaming proposed state hate crime legislation in honor of the Monsey stabbing victim who died. Following the attack, Cuomo proposed legislation that equates hate crimes with domestic terrorism. The legislation will be called the Josef Neumann Hate Crimes Domestic Terrorism Act. Read Here
2. N.Y. County DA Announces Inquiry Into Local Toyota Dealership That Refused Service to Chasidic Jew
By AARON BANDLER
Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler in southern New York announced that he is launching an inquiry into Johnstons Toyota in New Hampton, N.Y. over a video showing them refusing service to a Chasidic Jewish man for “spreading the virus.” Read Here
3. NJ Gov. Murphy calls out Lakewood anti-Semitism driven by coronavirus: ‘A special place in hell’
By Andrew J. Goudsward and Jean Mikle
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy condemned people who have used the coronavirus pandemic to heap scorn on the township’s Orthodox Jewish community. Murphy said some on social media have seized on incidents in which Lakewood residents have been charged for hosting weddings in violation of statewide restrictions to condemn the community as a whole. The governor met with Jewish community leaders who expressed concern about anti-Semitism fueled by the outbreak. Read Here
4. Prosecutor to seek murder charges in upstate anti-Semitic machete attack
By Frank Donnelly
Now that one victim has died, the Rockland County prosecutor said he will seek murder charges against, Grafton Thomas, 37, who slashed five Jewish men with a machete in Monsey, N.Y. Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Walsh did not immediately know when a grand jury could be convened to consider upgraded charges as courts have drastically reduced operations due to coronavirus. Read Here
5. Jews and Israel ‘Main Targets’ of Coronavirus Hate Speech, German Anti-Semitism Commissioner Warns
By Algemeiner Staff
Felix Klein, Germany’s top official tasked with combating anti-Semitism warned that “Jews and Israel” have become the main targets in a flurry of hate speech that is grounded in the coronavirus pandemic. “They are talking about a Jewish takeover of the world economy, Jews profiting from a possible vaccine, biological weapons developed by Israel, a Jewish attempt to reduce the world’s population.” Klein urged internet users to pressure social media platforms into acting against anti-Semitic incitement. Read Here
6. UK Home Office grants CST £14 million to protect Jewish institutions
By Jacob Judah
The UK Home Office has awarded £14 million to the Community Security Trust (CST) to bolster protection of the British Jewish community and its institutions. The grant is “to help keep members of the Jewish community safe in their daily lives” and will go towards protecting institutions such as schools and synagogues. Read Here
7. UN praises ‘excellent’ Israeli-Palestinian cooperation in fight against pandemic
By RAPHAEL AHREN
Perhaps uncharacteristically, the United Nations has showered praise on Israel for its “excellent” cooperation with the Palestinian Authority in fighting the coronavirus. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres mentioned the close cooperation between Jerusalem and Ramallah during a press conference announcing the launch of the “COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan.” Read Here
HUMANITY
(5 Pieces)
1. Muslim and Jewish paramedics pause to pray together. One of many inspiring moments in the coronavirus crisis
By Oren Liebermann
Avraham Mintz and Zoher Abu Jama finished responding to a call regarding a woman having respiratory problems when they realized it may be their only break of the shift. The two members of Israel’s emergency response service, paused to pray. Mintz, a religious Jew, stood facing Jerusalem while Abu Jama, an observant Muslim, knelt facing Mecca. For the two, who routinely work together, the joint prayer was nothing new. For so many others, it was an inspiring image in the midst of the global pandemic. Read Here
2. In Ukraine, Christian group steps in to feed needy Jews confined by COVID-19
By Sue Surkes
While poverty-stricken Ukraine scrambles to get a hold on the coronavirus, a Christian organization is stepping in to provide immediate food aid to elderly Jews confined to their homes. Christians for Israel, a Dutch-based organization that supports aliyah and distributes food parcels to needy Jews in around 100 Ukrainian locales, is using all of its vans, staff and volunteers to deliver food wherever Jews need it. Read Here
3. NY rabbi who survived COVID-19 donates blood plasma to treatment research
By Ben Harris
Rabbi Daniel Nevins, dean of the rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, was laid up for a few days with the coronavirus and then recovered. Within hours of testing clear, Nevins was hooked up to a machine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York to donate blood plasma. In the race to develop effective treatments for the disease, researchers are investigating whether antibodies from the blood of people who have successfully fought off the disease may provide treatment for people with more serious symptoms. Read Here
4. Israeli innovation to produce hundreds of automatic respirators a day
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
First Robotics League, Microsoft Israel, Ichilov Medical Center, Magen David Adom and the Israel Air Force, have come together to find an innovative solution to avoid future ventilator shortages. The idea is to create an “open source” respirator that can be mass produced in labs at low cost, without the need for factories. The solution could allow the mass production of hundreds of automatic respirators per day. Read Here
5. Two Israeli hospitals launch AI-based tele-ICU to support COVID-19 patients
By Tammy Lovell
Predictive analytics platform CLEW is working with two Israeli hospitals to manage and treat patients infected with the COVID-19 virus, while protecting frontline care workers. Its TeleICU is being deployed at Sheba Medical Center and the Ichilov Hospital. The platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) based predictive analytics to exponentially expand ICU capacity. Its algorithms are trained to identify respiratory deterioration in advance, enabling early interventions that might change the clinical outcome, especially in COVID-19 patients. This allows healthcare workers to identify disease severity from a remote command center. Read Here
OVER 200,000 INDIVIDUALS AND 210 ORGANIZATIONS HAVE SIGNED OUR PLEDGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
“Combat anti-Semitism (CAM) is a non-partisan, global grassroots movement of interfaith individuals and organizations united to combat anti-Semitism. CAM exposes anti-Semitic activity from across the ideological spectrum and highlights those working to fight against its resurgence. One of the most pernicious forms of modern anti-Semitism is the effort to deny and delegitimize the Jewish people’s right to self-determination and their profound historic, religious and cultural connection to their ancestral homeland, Israel. Humanity flourishes when religious, ethnic, and cultural diversity is respected, and we hope to encourage understanding and set an example through our work. Anti-Semitism is the oldest form of bigotry and by working to eliminate it, we hope tragedies like the holocaust or any incidents of hate inspired speech or violence perpetrated against the Jewish people, Israel, or any discriminated group are reduced significantly.”
